Audley: a Brief Survey of its Surnames from the Fourteenth to the Seventeenth
Century

Edgar Tooth

The ancient parish of Audley is situated in the north west corner of
Staffordshire, roughly halfway between Alsager and Crewe to the north and west
and Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Potteries to the south and south east.
Such a dominant position overlooking the Cheshire Plain, a surrounding region
abounding in fertile soils and extensive woodlands of ash, oak, beech, birch and
yew, with easy access to the Roman road running through nearby Chesterton and
Talke via Lyme Forest, and thence on to Middlewich, must have been decisive
factors in determining the original site of the settlement, accredited to its
female Anglo-Saxon founder, Aldgyth.(1) The place itself thus means "the
glade or clearing belonging to Aldgyth." It is this strategic geographical
location, owing on the one hand allegiance to north Staffordshire, and on the
other hand, having strong links with the Palatinate of Chester, that is a
crucial element in any study of the development of surnames in the area.

This connection with the neighbouring county of Cheshire goes back to the years
immediately following the Norman Conquest, when the Palatine of Chester was
created as part of the Norman feudal system. Under this arrangement the
first Earl of Chester gave the manor of Audley to a thane called Gamel, along
with lands in Talke, Balterley and Barthomley.(2) His name lives on in the
modern surname Gamble. In the Audley Parish Registers, Robert Gamble
is buried on June 27th, 1672. He may well be identical with Robert Gannill
(sic), son of William Gannill (sic), baptized in 1604.(3) After the
alleged murder of Gamel, the manor of Audley passed into the hands of the Audley
family, who soon became one of the foremost medieval landowners in
Staffordshire. Amongst their impressive list of achievements is the
construction of Heleigh Castle and the foundation of the Cistercian Abbey at
Abbey Hulton.(4) The subsequent history of the Audley dynasty is too well
documented to require further elaboration here. Likewise with the other
major landowners in the district through the ages, including the Craddocks,
Thickness-Touchets, Vernons, Smith Childs, Abnetts, the Eardleys of Eardley and
the Bougheys of Aqualate Hall in Shropshire, who were the last to hold lordship
of the manor.

But what of the lesser-known inhabitants in medieval Audley and neighbourhood,
who were as much part of local history as their more illustrious fellow
countrymen? What names did they pass on to posterity? The best
evidence for the formation and fixation of many of our most common surnames is
contained in the Lay Subsidy Rolls for the county, a series of taxes instigated
in 1283 by Edward I to finance his military operations in Wales and proposed
invasion of Scotland. These taxes were levied at the very moment when
surnames were in the process of becoming hereditary. Each subsidy roll
gives a list of inhabitants for each village in the county and the amount of
their tax assessment, from the lord of the manor down to the peasants, who
exceeded the exemption rate of ten shillings. Extracts from the 1327/1332
Lay Subsidy Rolls for Audley (5) demonstrate clearly this crucial stage in the
development of our surnames, encapsulating for ever the ingenuity and
spontaneity of the medieval mind. The list looks extremely odd to the
modern eye, with its curious mixture of English, Latin and Norman French, so
beloved of the medieval clerks who compiled such tax returns for their
superiors. Nevertheless, on closer examination, many of the recordings are
recognisable and fall naturally into four categories:

A) LOCAL

This class comprises
placenames, which signify a particular locality where a person was born or from
whence he came if he moved away to another area, or in the case of landowners,
indicative of the place where their main holdings were situated. Also
includes toponymics, which describe some prominent geographical feature in the
landscape where someone lived, and names from English counties, Continental
places, etc.

B) TRADES, OCCUPATIONS
AND OFFICES

These names state the
type of work engaged in by the person in question, or official title held.
Also pageant names.

C) NICKNAMES

Surnames derived from
physical, mental and moral characteristics, describing a person's appearance and
behaviour. Also names from the natural world, special occasions and
festivals throughout the year, expressions and phrase names.

D) RELATIONSHIPS

Surnames ending in
"-son", including those derived from the father - patronymics, and those from
the mother - metronymics. Also personal names of either gender and names
such as Cousin, Widdows etc.

Let us deal with each category of surnames in turn:

A) LOCAL

i) Placenames

Every placename used as a
surname in the list (see page 3) is preceded by the French preposition "de" but
this does not necessarily imply that the name was not already being handed down
in the family. For instance, Thomas de Bykenou and Stephen de Bykenou were
either father and son or brothers and the odds are that the surname was already
hereditary in their family. This is the modern locality known as Bignall
End, but the medieval spelling is obscure. It could be a compound of
"Bica" and "hoh" - "Bica's hill", one of the sources of the modern surname
Bignal(l)/Bignell. What is significant, however, is that all the
placenames containing "de" are either within the parish of Audley itself, or not
too far away: Thickness near Newcastle-under-Lyme; Blurton, between Longton and
Hanford; Podmore near Ashley. Boghay (Bochay), preserved in the surname
Boughey and Bowey Lane, which runs from Betley to Knowl Bank, is possibly for a
bow-shaped enclosure. Later on it fluctuates with Boffey (Buffey), since,
in the Gnosall Parish Register for 1785, Thomas Boughey signs his own name as
Boffey.(6) The latter normally goes back to Beaufour in Normandy.
For the vacillation between Boughey (Bowey) and Boffey (Buffey) we only have to
look at the couplet "enow - enough". Longmore is typical of south
Staffordshire rather than the north and refers to a long fen or marsh.
There are field-names so called in Baswich, Brewood, Acton Trussell and Bednall.
(7)

1327/1332 LAY SUBSIDY
ROLLS FOR AUDLEY

Name of Person Assessed
Amount of Tax Paid

Jacobus de Audeleye (de
Audley 1332) 6 shillings 6
pence

Richard del delves (de
delves 1332)
3 shillings

John
de Wodehul (de Wodehull 1332)
3 shillings 6 pence

William de Thicknes
2 shillings 6 pence

John
de Godhay (de Boghay 1332)
3 shillings

Peter de Longemere (de Longemor 1332) 2 shillings
6 pence

Richard Kelinge (le kylynge 1332)
2 shillings

Richard Buttere
18 pence

Peter de knoll
12 pence

William Crocket
18 pence

Thomas de Bochay (de Boghay 1332)
23 pence

John
le taylur (le taylour 1332)
18 pence

Thomas clericus
2 shillings

Robert del pek (del peeke 1332)
18 pence

John
de Erdeleye (de Erdele 1332)
18 pence

Thomas del peke
2 shillings

Thomas de Longemore
2 shillings

Adam
le parkere (le parker)
12 pence

Adam
le taylur
2 shillings

Alexander de la lowe
9 pence

Thomas filius Henrici
12 pence

William de Blorton
12 pence

Stephen de Bykenou
2 shillings

William de Dovere
18 pence

William de Pedmor (de Podemor 1332)
4 shillings

Thomas de Bykenou
3 shillings

Thomas Cours (Curs 1332)
5 shillings

Ralph Croket
4 shillings 6 pence

TOTAL 65
shillings 2 pence

Eardley is of unknown
origin, although the final element is certainly Old English "leah" - "glade,
clearing". Eardley End occurs as Yeardley End in 1512 (8), hence the
modern variants, plus Yardley, because it also appears as Yardley End in 1621.
(9) This change parallels the dialectal "yed" for "head ('ead)".
William de Mere in the 1332 list probably came from Maer, between Mucklestone
and Shelton-under-Harley - the Old English being "mere", meaning "lake" or
"pool". It is pronounced as "Mare" and spelt as "Mare" by Plot in 1686.
(10) In the Wolstanton Parish Register, Elijah Mare (1746) is also quoted
as Elijah Mayer in 1749 (11), hence the very common Staffordshire surname Mayer.
Mere (Meertown) near Aqualate on the Staffordshire-Shropshire border is also
noted as Mayre in the 17th century, whilst Meir Heath, near Hilderstone, is
recorded as Mare Heath in the Swynnerton Parish Register for 1756. (12)
The situation is complicated by the fact that another Old English word -
"(ge)maere" - "boundary" - shows similar spellings and is preserved in Meyre
Lane Leasow in Cannock and Hand Mare in Blymhill and Brineton. Thus, Mayer
could just as well describe a person who set up home near some such boundary.
Elsewhere throughout the country the surname Mayer (Mayor) is derived from the
imported Norman word "maire" - "mayor of a borough", either an official title or
an ironic appelation for someone who put on the airs and graces of a mayor to
make himself look and sound important. (14) The recording William de
Dovere may be a misprint for "de Wovere", from Woore. Jacobus de Audeleye,
at the top of the list, was the second baron Audley, that is, James, Lord
Audley, who fought alongside the Black Prince at the battle of Poitiers in 1356.
The Hebrew "Jacob" of disputed origin, was latinized in medieval documents as
"Jacobus" and "Jacomus", both of which have spawned numerous derivatives, such
as James, Jameson, Gemson, Jack(s), Jackson, Jacklin, Jackman etc.

ii) Toponymics

The second name on the
list - Richard del delves - "dweller by the ditches or quarries" is presumably
the same Richard Delves, one of the squires of James, Lord Audley, who reputedly
carried his wounded lord from the field of battle at Poitiers. The surname
Delf/Delves could also denote a worker at some quarry or other. There was
a stone quarry in operation at Talke in 1278 and at Balterley in 1280, (15) so
it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Richard could have been employed
at either quarry. In mining communities of north Staffordshire the word
"delf" is still used in such expressions as "delf hole" - "pit shaft" and "delf
rags" - "miners' working clothes".

Three taxpayers dwelt by a hill or peak: Peter de knoll, which survives in Knowl
End and Knowl Bank, and the surname Knowle(s); Robert del pek and Thomas del
peke lived by the top of a hill - the modern surname Peake. Alexander de
la lowe set up home near some tumulus or burial mound - Low(e)/Loe, whilst John
de Wodehul resided by the wood by the hill or vice versa - Woodhall.

B) TRADES,
OCCUPATIONS AND OFFICES

These names present no problems. Richard Buttere was a maker or seller of
butter - Butter(s), John le taylor and Adam le taylur were cutters of cloth,
tailors - Taylor; Thomas clericus was a scribe or clerke - Clark(e), and Adam le
parkere was an official who looked after the deer park, and whose duties
included the preventing of poaching - Parker.

C) NICKNAMES

These are a little thin on the ground. Richard Kelinge (le kylynge 1332)
is derived from Middle English "keling" - "a large codfish", either a nickname
for a slippery customer or a dealer or trader in such fish. An alternative
origin might be an original Scandinavian byname, connected with Old West
Scandinavian "keila" - "codfish", plus the Saxon patronymic suffix "-ing" -
compare 1220 Feet of Fines, Serlo Keling of Lichfield. (16) The form
"Keling" was thus treated like any other Saxon patronymic in

"-ing" like Harding,
Gooding and so on.

D) RELATIONSHIPS

William Croket and Ranulph Croket are obviously members of the same family,
sharing a hereditary surname, but the name itself is obscure. It may be a
diminutive of the Old Danish name "Krok" but this certainly would be
exceptional, since the overwhelming majority of pet names are formed from Old
French, Germanic, Classical and Biblical names. The only comparable name
would be Hackett - compare 1327 Lay Subsidies, Thomas Haket of Kibblestone, an
Anglo-Norman diminutive of the Old Norse name "Haki". A diminutive of Old
English "croc(c)" - "crock, vessel, earthen pot", springs to mind in a county
renowned for its pottery, but is not proven. It might be a nickname used
in a similar way to the derogatory nickname "testard", from Old French "teste" -
"head", a slang term for a big head, but this line of enquiry seems somewhat
vague. There was a Middle English "croket" - "lock of hair" or "large roll
of hair", much worn in the time of Edward I, which might have given rise to a
nickname for someone who favoured such a hair style, but in the end, no
explanation of the surname Crockett is entirely satisfactory.

The one patronymic - "Thomas filius Henrici" - "Thomas son of Henry" develops
into Harrison, since Harry was the regular medieval form of Henry. One pet
form from 1332 - Adam filius Atkoce - stands for "son of Atcock (pet form of
Adam)". The more common pet form is Atkin(s) together with its
corresponding patronymic Atkinson. The name Thomas Cours (Curs 1332) is
unknown.

Two remarkable facts emerge from the 1327 list. First, 14 of the surnames
occur right through the period under investigation: Boughey, Podmore, Eardley,
Butters, Taylor, Parker, Clarke, Lowe, Crockett, Keeling, Knowles, Harrison,
Woodall and Audley (the latter for obvious reasons), plus Mayer from 1332.
However, of these, only Boughey and Butters are more common in Audley than the
surrounding area, since all the remaining surnames are found throughout north
Staffordshire from the Middle Ages onwards. This continuity is a clear
indication that at this particular stage in its evolution Audley was a
tightly-knit, agricultural community with a static population and minimal
outside influence. Second, out of the 29 personal names used, 11 are of
Germanic origin, introduced by the Normans - William (5), Richard (3), Robert,
Henry and Ranulph; 14 are Biblical in origin - Thomas (7), John (4), Adam (2)
and Jacob (James); and 4 derived from Classical sources - Peter (2), Stephen and
Alexander. The eclipse of the old Saxon and Scandinavian names is total!

By the beginning of the sixteenth century the picture begins to change
dramatically with the influx of a whole new stock of surnames from Cheshire.
If we take as our guide a list of families in the Archdeaconry of Stafford for
1532/1533 (17) and the 1539 Muster Roll for Audley (18), supplemented by the
Parish Registers covering the years 1538-1712 (19), these new Cheshire names
comprise: Baggaley, Bostock, Cranage, Davenport, Dutton, Gallimore, Hassall,
Henshall (Henshaw), Hulse, Kelsall, Hilditch, Lawton, Minshall (Minshaw),
Mottershead, Mottershaw, Maxfield Macclesfield), Ravenscroft, Sinderland,
Swettenham, Turnock, Twemlow, Warburton and Wareham (Weaverham). They more
than hold their own alongside the home-grown names such as Ashley, Baddeley,
Bentley, Bloor, Bowers, Brindley, Buckley, Cartledge, Colclough, Drakeford,
Fernihough, Podmore, Rowley, Sneyd and Whitough (Whittle). These new
Cheshire families may have been attracted southwards by the flourishing
ironstone industry at Newcastle-u-Lyme or the iron-making bloomeries at
Heighley, which were in operation in 1469. It is recorded that ironstone
was being mined there in 1492. (20) Iron was also being worked at Talke by
the fourteenth century and there must have been a considerable number of
families disenchanted by making a living on the land, who turned towards the
iron industry for their livelihood.

In the meantime, the traditional Audley surnames survived, some ramifying more
than others. The most prolific are as follows:

TOPONYMICS

Beech
- beech tree, or from the placename
Beech near
Swynnerton.

Birks
- birch trees (Scandinavianized form)

Bourne
- stream

Brook(e)s-
brook, stream, water meadow

Dale
- dale, valley

Ford
- ford (over a river or stream)

Heath
- heath(land)

Holt
- wood

Lunt (Lowndes) - grove

Moss
- moss, marsh(land)

Pool(e)
- pool, tidal stream

Shaw (Shore) - wood

Stubbs
- tree stumps (also a nickname for a stubby,
stocky
person)

Wood -
wood

TRADES, OCCUPATIONS,
OFFICES

Barker
- tanner or shepherd

Bailey
- public administrator of a district.
More rarely from
Bailey in Lancashire

Dean -
dean (academic or ecclesiastical) - also a local variant
of Dain - "worthy"

Fletcher -
a maker or seller of arrows

Fowler
- hunter of wild birds

Gleave(s)- Middle English "gleve" -
lance, a lanceman,
spearman,or applied to the person who won the race in
which the lance was set up as a winning post and given
as a prize

Hall
- worker at the hall (of the lord
of the manor)

Knight -
knight, feudal tenant bound to serve as a mounted
soldier

Mason/Machin - mason. Machin is the Norman French form

Proctor - contracted form
of "procurator", an official in an
ecclesiastical law court

Reeves - servant at
the house of the reeve, or from Middle English
"atter evese": dweller at the border (of a wood or the
edge of a hill)

Smith -
smith, blacksmith, farrier

Stonier/Stanier/Stonehewer - stone cutter, quarrier of stone

Stringer - maker of
strings for bows

PERSONAL NAMES

Adams - Hebrew
"Adam" - red

Allen/Allan - Breton "Alan", the name of a Welsh and
Breton saint

Alexander- Greek for "defender of men"

Barnett - a local
variant of Barnard/Bernard - Old German
"bernard" - "bear brave". There is no evidence for any
topographical source, that is, Old English "baernet" -
"burning", "land cleared by burning".

Cole
- Old English "Cola", or Old Norse "Koli".
Also local variant
of Cowall near Biddulph

Craddock- Welsh "Caradoc"

Daniels - Hebrew
"Daniel" - "God has judged"

Dunning (Downing) - Old English "Dunning" - "son of Dunn"

Garratt/Garrett - Germanic "Gerard" - "spear brave"

Harding - Old English "Hearding"
- "son of Heard"

Kendrick - Welsh "Cynwrig"

Morris -
Latin "Mauritius" - "Moorish, dark, swarthy"

Phillips -
Greek for "lover of horses"

Unwin - Old
English "Hunwine" - "young bear-friend", or "unwine" -
"unfriend, enemy" or variant of Onions, from Old Welsh
"Enniaun"

Parrot - from Peter, from
Greek "Petros" - "rock", or nickname
from the parrot

Piggot - from Old
French "Pic-ot" either from the Old French
personal name "Pic", plus the dimutive suffix "-ot" or a
nickname from Old French "picot" - "point, pointed
object" with reference to a tall, thin person -
compare
"as thin as a rake".

Willett - from
William - Germanic "Willihelm" - "will helmet"

PATRONYMICS

Dickenson- son of Dickin, from Richard

Harrison - son of Harry (Henry)

Jackson - son of Jack (James)

Johnson/Joynson - son of John. Joynson is typical of south Cheshire
and north Staffordshire

Robinson - son of Robin, from Robert

Sim(p)son - Son of Sim, from Simon

Stevenson/Stephenson - son of Steven

Wilkinson - son of Wilkin, from William

NICKNAMES

Ball -
baldheaded or rotund or for a dweller by a ball-shaped
mound, or from Old Danish “Balle”

Beckett - little beak or
mouth, beak-nosed

Brown - brown
hair or complexion

Drinkwater- a nickname for anyone who was so poor
that s/he could
not afford to drink ale even when it was four gallons a
penny

Grocott - compound of Middle
English "grew" - "crane (the bird)"
and "-cock".

Denotes someone with stilt-like legs, a lanky person

Halfpenny- custom of paying a halfpenny rent
for the renovation of
dilapidated mills, etc. Or, Possibly a nickname for a
stingy person who "had his hand on a halfpenny"

Lovatt - Old
French "louet" - "wolf cub". Possibly someone who
was quiet and shy, but who was prone to angry outbursts

Pickering/Pickerell/Pickerill - either from Pickering in Yorkshire or from
Middle English "pykerel" - "young pike". The original
switch occurs in Pickerin-Pickeril, then the "g" is added
later. The same change is also seen in Gaskin-Gaskill

Proudlove - self explanatory

Rathbone - doubtful, but could be from Middle
English "hrathe bon" -
swift bone",with reference to a swift runner or messenger

Sparrow/Sparrey - sparrow, hence "flighty", or from the Scandinavian
name "Sperrir"

Sherratt/Sharratt - a compound, consisting of Old English "scir" - "bright,
shining" and the suffix "-hard", referring to someone who
set a shining example, an outstanding individual. Also a
contracted variant of Sherwood

Steele -
a person who was as unyielding as steel

Viggars - Anglo-French
"vigrus" - strong, powerful", or variant of
Vickers (the servant of the vicar)

Wildblood- a hot-head, a person who was impetuous
and
unpredictable

Two remaining surnames,
Brownsword and Scarratt have caused surname researchers endless problems in the
past. Brownsword is a local variant of the locality known as Brownsett
rear Roche Grange. The place itself is recorded in a bewildering array of
forms in the Leek Parish Registers (21) during the seventeenth century, ranging
from Brownsford, Bromsott, Braunsott, Brounsote to Brownsort and eventually to
Brownsword. The spellings are very late and any attempt at an accurate
etymology is sure to be wide of the mark, although Brownsford suggests "Brun's
ford". The surname Skerratt/Scarratt is very common around Audley and
Betley from the 1550s onwards, spelt in a wide variety of forms, including
Skerrat, Skerriot, Skariott, Skarett, Scarrott, Scarryot and so on. Reaney
derives Skerritt/Skerrett/Skerratt and Skirrett from Skirwith in Cumberland,
formerly pronounced as "Skerritt", or from a Middle English word "skirwit,
skirwhit(e)" - "parsnip", applied to anyone who grew or sold such vegatables.
(22) But neither of these two derivations is suitable for Staffordshire.
It is significant that in the Inquests on the Audley estates we find a certain
Henry Skaryok as one of the inhabitants of Horton near Rudyard in 1298. (23)
He crops up again as Henry Scarioc in 1307. This looks very much like
"scarred oak, gnarled oak", hence a dweller by such a tree. The transition
to "Skaryot, Scariot" etc is easily explained by the dialectal "untle" for
"uncle" and "pittle" for "pickle".

This is the picture,
then, at the close of the seventeenth century with the admixture of
Staffordshire and Cheshire names gaining momentum. The Industrial
Revolution is imminent and another invasion of new surnames is about to take
place, but that is another story.